11 Owls in Michigan
Among owl species that can be found throughout the United States, there are 11 owls in Michigan.
The variety of natural habitats in Michigan makes for a variety of owls across the state. From deeply wooded forests to vast marshes and Great Lakes, there are owls to find everywhere you look.
Owls are part of an avian group known as Birds of Prey, which consists of hawks, eagles, falcons, owls, condors, and vultures. They are also referred to as Raptors, from the Latin “raptare” – to seize and carry off, which is how they take their prey.
While most of the raptors in the US are diurnal, meaning that they hunt during the day, owls are primarily nocturnal and hunt mostly at night.
These are birds that you may be more likely to hear than see, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t find them hanging out on branches or in the nest during the daytime. Birding hint – learn the calls of those owls most likely to be in your area. Sound helps you zero in on where they are, and knowing what you’re looking for is helpful too.
When identifying raptors, keep in mind that females are much larger than males. While this may make identification problematic with hawks, it’s not as much of an issue for owls.
Owls are silent fliers. Their rounded wings have fringed tips that muffle sound as they fly. Their wings are broad but their bodies are light, making them a sort of avian stealth jet while stalking prey.
For more birdwatching in Michigan see our articles on Backyard Birds in Michigan, Woodpeckers in Michigan, and Hawks in Michigan.
We’re going to start with the smaller owls found in Michigan and work our way up to the largest ones.
1. Northern Saw-whet Owl
- Scientific Name Aegolius acadicus
- Size 7.t to 8.3 inches
- Wingspan 16.5 to 18.9 inches
Description
The Northern Saw-whet owl is one of the “cute owls”, and are the smallest owls in Michigan. Their name comes from the sound they make, kind of similar to a saw being sharpened across a whetstone.
Northern Saw-whet Owls have large round heads with catlike faces and pale facial discs. They have big yellow eyes and no ear tufts. They are mottled brown with white streaking and a white “V” between their eyes.
Juveniles have a completely different look – cinnamon bodies with dark backs and a very prominent “V” between their eyes.
This is a deep woods owl, but they have also been found in urban areas too. A strictly nocturnal hunter, the Northern Saw-whet Owl’s primary food source is mice. During migration, however, small songbirds can be on the menu.
Tiny Saw-whet owls are often prey for their larger Strigiform cousins, including Screech and Great Horned Owls, Accipiters such as Cooper’s and Broad-winged Hawks, and Peregrine falcons.
Saw-whets spend the daylight hours roosting in conifers, preferring to be around 10 feet off the ground and surrounded by camouflaging foliage. They are sometimes found by flocks of small songbirds, so if you are walking on a trail and notice the Chickadees making a fuss, there may be a Saw-whet Owl hiding up above you in the trees.
Bird Notes
These tiny owls are hard to see, so learning their call will help you locate it. They are most likely to call between January and May, during mating season.
Northern Saw-whet Owls are not afraid to fly long distances over large bodies of water. One actually landed on a fishing vessel 70 miles off the coast from Montauk Point.
A Northern Saw-whet Owl found itself in Rockefeller Center during the holidays by accident. It was found nesting in the Christmas Tree that stands in the New York City landmark, which was cut down in Oneonta and transported down to New York City with the owl snug inside its branches for the whole ride.
song and call
2. Eastern Screech-Owl
- Scientific Name Megascops (Otus) asio
- Size 6.3 to 9.8 inches
- Wingspan 18.9 to 24 inches
Description
A small, well-camouflaged owl is more likely to be heard at night rather than seen. In daylight, these raptors’ ability to blend in against a tree is uncanny (especially the gray morph). The tiny Screech-Owl is perfectly patterned to disappear against the bark and into tree cavities and recesses, becoming invisible.
Eastern Screech-owls are small owls with little ear tufts and dark beaks. The gray morph has dark vertical streaking, the red morph is reddish brown (rufous) with brownish streaking and some white underneath, and the brown morph is a dark grayish brown with dark brown streaking and some white underneath. All morphs have bright yellow eyes.
Gray and red are the most common colors, with red occurring about one-third of the time. Brown is the least found of the three color morphs in the east. The gray morph has excellent camouflage – it’s like playing “Where’s Waldo” – they can blend into hollow trees so completely that they can be impossible to find. If you’re staring at a tree thinking that you saw something and the tree bark winks at you, it’s an Eastern Screech-Owl.
This is one of the “No Hoot” owls. Screech-Owls whinny like horses. They call starting at dusk, and you are more likely to locate a Screech-Owl by its call rather than by sight.
Screech-Owls do use nest boxes, so having a box on your property may convince them to set up a house in your yard.
Bird Notes
Screech owls like cavities in trees that face south or east, to catch the morning sun and warm them up.
Screech-Owl young are fierce competitors for food. They will toss the smallest owlet out of the nest to get more food from their parents.
Birders who are good at making bird calls use the Screech-Owl whinny to stir up small birds like Wrens and Chickadees in wooded thickets. The little birds come out to see where the “dangerous owl” is.
song and call
3. Boreal Owl
- Scientific Name Aegolius funereus
- Size 8.3 to 11 inches
- Wingspan 21.6 to 24.4 inches
Description
Large bright eyes and a squared head mark the Boreal Owl. This owl has a whitish-gray facial disk outlined with black or dark gray, and a streaked brown body with white spots (small spots on the top of the head and larger ones on the back). Juveniles have none of the streaking and spots.
A totally nocturnal hunter, the small Boreal Owl comes alive with the darkness, making them difficult to observe and keep track of. This may be the main reason that the actual numbers of these birds in Michigan are problematic – a small raptor, hard to see, active only at night, and living in the boreal forests.
The Boreal Owl inhabits the northern parts of the state. Elusive and mysterious, it is also one of the so-called “cute owls”.
Boreal Owls are ambush predators, waiting patiently on a branch until prey comes by and then swoops down to grab it with their strong talons.
Bird Notes
The average life span of a Boreal Owl is about 7 to 8 years.
Boreal Owls have been known to store prey away in cold weather and then sit on it to thaw it before consuming it.
song and call
4. Barn Owl
- Scientific Name Tyto alba
- Size 13 to 16 inches
- Wingspan 31 to 37 inches
Description
Slim, pale owl with a white heart-shaped facial disc, giving it an eerie look, especially at night. A strictly nocturnal hunter whose call is a blood-curdling shriek instead of the more familiar hoot. This and their spectral appearance is why they are also called “Ghost Owls”.
The ghostly Barn Owl is gray and brown on top and mostly white underneath. Males tend to be paler all over than females.
These are owls with exceptional hearing and keen night vision. They prowl the nocturnal fields in search of mice and small rodents. Their heart-shaped face and asymmetrical ears enable them to hone in on a vole rustling through the grass.
A Barn Owl swallows their prey whole. What they can’t digest becomes part of the owl pellets found on the ground near the roost.
Bird Notes
Barn Owls have dark brown eyes instead of the golden yellow orbs of most other owl species.
Barns and trees are not the only places Barn Owls are found. A Barn Owl nest was located in New York City’s Yankee Stadium.
Barn Owls are one of the owl species that are prone to be hit by cars. Their low flights over fields make them susceptible to vehicles. Like most owls, their eyes only look straight ahead. When honed in on their prey, unless they turn their heads, they never see cars coming until they make contact with them.
song and call
5. Northern Hawk Owl
- Scientific Name Surnia ulula
- Size 14.2 to 17.7 inches
- Wingspan 19 to 28 inches
Description
The Northern Hawk Owl is a boreal bird, meaning that it lives in the northern coniferous forests where the only trees are pines, spruces, and larches (it’s called Boreal Forest here in North America and Taiga in other places).
These are medium-sized owls with very long, tapered tails. Their facial disk is white and outlined in black, and their chests and bellies have horizontal brown and white barring. Their wings are short and pointed, unlike most other owls. Both their legs and feet are feathered.
The name says it all – it’s an owl that behaves like a hawk. The face and eyes are all owls; the long tail and a penchant for perching atop solitary trees and hunting in daylight are all hawks. Another un-owlish fact is that Northern Hawk Owl ears are symmetrical, so they hunt more by sight than hearing.
When the rodent and small mammal population in the boreal forest declines, Northern Hawk Owls will hunt farther south than their normal range. Starting in the fall, Northern Michigan is the best place for Northern Hawk Owl sightings in these irruption years.
Bird Notes
When rodents and small mammals are abundant, Northern Hawk Owls will store their prey in tree crevices to eat later, ensuring that they always have food on hand.
song
Call
6. Long-eared Owl
- Scientific Name Asio otus
- Size 14 to 16 inches
- Wingspan 35.4 to 39.4 Inches
Description
Medium-sized, long and slender owl with large ear tufts that usually point straight up. A nocturnal hunter whose call is a single loud “Hoot!” They may be found roosting in deciduous trees during the day, likely up close to the tree trunk for camouflage.
Large yellow eyes and an orange facial disc are other good field marks for this owl. Large rounded wings and streaked underparts also mark this owl, along with those prominent ear tufts.
Long-eared Owls are grassland hunting specialists, flying on silent wings over open ground to find small mammals and rodents. In daylight, they are hidden and well-camouflaged in the heavily-treed woods surrounding meadows, fields, and open grasslands.
Bird Notes
Long-eared Owls are loud! Their “Hoot!” can be heard from up to three-quarters of a mile.
Those big ear tufts make the Long-eared Owl look bigger than it actually is.
Song
Call
7. Short-eared Owl
- Scientific Name Asio flammeus
- Size 14 to 17 inches
- Wingspan 34 to 40 inches
Description
The Short-eared Owl is found everywhere with the exception of Australia and Antarctica, making it the most widely-distributed owl in the world. They are long-distance migration specialists and are undaunted by flights over water.
A rounded head and tiny ear tufts mark the medium-sized Short-eared Owl, along with dark eye patches on a white face, giving them a sort of spooky look. The streaked plumage of this owl varies in color from light brown to dark, allowing for great camouflage among the different habitats they call home.
Short-eared Owls are ground nesters, unusual among the owl population. Their coloration makes them very well-camouflaged. While they are hard for other predators to locate, should a hawk or larger owl finds them, they will play dead until the hunter flies away. They will also do a “broken-wing” display if a predator comes too close to the nest.
The time to find Short-eared Owls in Michigan is in winter. Look for them searching for prey during the day and at dusk actively hunting over open fields and in coastal marshes. In-flight they present rounded wings with dark wingtips and moth-like movements.
Bird Notes
Short-eared Owls are only one of two owl species found on the Hawaiian Islands (the Barn Owl is the other). Both species were introduced to the islands to curb rodent populations.
Of the six species of owls that don’t live in forest habitats, only three inhabit North America – the Short-eared Owl is one of those three (the Snowy Owl and Burrowing Owl are the other two).
Song
Call
8. Great Horned Owl
- Scientific Name Bubo virginianus
- Size 18 to 25 inches
- Wingspan 55 inches
Description
Large owl with distinctive long ear tufts (horns) and large yellow eyes. Another owl with varying plumages, cinnamon-hued birds are found more in the eastern areas, so while that’s the norm in Michigan, you may find birds with gray or browner feathers.
Juvenile owls look like little ghosts in ghillie suits. They are covered in fluffy whitish down, contrasting with their dark facial disks and those noticeable yellow eyes.
These owls hunt from a perch, looking down from high tree branches out over a field or meadow in search of small rodents, other mammals, and even other birds.
Great Horned Owls take over standing structures from other large raptors, especially old Red-tailed Hawk nests, and spruce them up to their own specifications. Check any nests you find closely – there may be little ear tufts sticking up from the twigs and branches. Young owls are very well-camouflaged in their nests.
Bird Notes
Great Horned Owls tend to stay close to home; they don’t migrate.
Other names for the Great Horned are Tiger Owl, because of their striped bodies, and Hoot Owl, due to their very familiar “Hoo H’ Hoo Hoo Hoo”. A Great Horned Owl hoot can be heard up to ten miles away.
Great Horned Owls are the largest of the tufted ear owls. They are also the largest resident owl in Michigan.
When stressed, Great Horned Owls will snap their bills, hiss, and scream. If you hear American Crows cawing and screaming, they have probably located a Great Horned Owl and will continue mobbing it until it either tries to get away or the crows move out. Great Horned Owls are one of the crow’s biggest predators.
song and call
9. Barred Owl
- Scientific Name Strix varia
- Size 19-20 inches
- Wingspan 39 to 43.3 inches
Description
A large owl with mottled brown plumage, dark eyes, and a yellow bill, Barred Owls are the most common owl in Michigan.
Sitting in the tree and watching for prey is how Barred Owls hunt. They search for small mammals, and will even sit in trees over water and swoop down to take fish. Look for them around dusk and dawn.
Like many owls, Barred Owls don’t migrate. They prefer older deciduous forests with a water source nearby.
Bird Notes
The Barred Owl’s call is the distinctive hooting “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” They love forests near water, so if you’re sitting in the woods around a lake, cup your ears and listen for the call.
Although it is a large bird, the Barred Owl’s fiercest predator is the Great Horned Owl, who will even poach eggs from Barred Owl nests. Although they live in the same areas, the Barred Owl will move if it finds a Great Horned Owl nesting nearby.
Song and call
10. Snowy Owl
- Scientific Name Bubo scandiacus
- Size 20.5 to 27.9 inches
- Wingspan 49.7 to 57.1 inches
Description
Large, almost all-white owl with variable dark barring found only in winter, especially along the Upper Peninsula and Great Lakes.
Snowy Owls come out of the high arctic regions during the winter months in search of food, and coastal beaches and shorelines are prime locations for their visits. They also like wide open spaces that remind them of their arctic tundra home, so airports and large parks and preserves are other places to find them.
These beautiful owls live in 24-hour daylight, so they are active more during the day. These are very patient birds. They will perch on a dune or other good lookout spot for hours, surveying the open vista for signs of prey.
How many are sighted depends on the lemming population in their breeding grounds – lots of lemmings means only young birds will venture south in search of a winter food source. Too few furry rodents mean that a Snowy Owl irruption occurs
Bird Notes
Snowy Owls are fast fliers – they have been clocked at speeds up to 50 mph.
You would think a big white owl would be easy to spot, but that white plumage acts like camouflage in certain areas, especially along beaches and sand dunes. If you’ve gone on a Snowy Safari at the beach, you probably know that other white things like plastic bags and buckets can look just like owls.
One of my favorite fake owls was the “Mop Owl” – a mop head added to a duck blind by the hunters to keep geese and ducks from roosting on the blind. It actually fooled some people and made others do a double-take.
The rule is, if it blinks, it’s most likely an owl; if not, it could just be a mop.
Are Snowy Owls touchy-feely? They can detect prey through the pads of their feet. Snowies can feel the vibrations of moving rodents through the snow. Their feet contain many special nerve endings that make this possible.
song
call
11. Great Gray Owl
- Scientific Name Strix nebulosa
- Size 24 to 33 inches
- Wingspan 54 to 60 inches
Description
Denizens of the Boreal Forests, Great Gray Owls are the largest owls by size in North America. They are big, tall owls with large rounded heads; silver-gray overall with streaks of white, gray, and brown, and lightly barred on the chest. These owls can be found in Michigan, mostly in boreal forests along the Great Lakes, in the Upper Peninsula (UP), and in the northern tip of the State.
This dapper owl sports a white “Bow Tie” with a black center on his neck. The tail is long (bow tie and tails?) and the plumage is very fluffy. Their wings are broad, rounded, and fringed for silent flight.
Great Gray Owls inhabit the Taigas and Boreal forests of North America. In the United States, they can be found in pine and fir forests near montane meadows. Their diet consists mostly of small rodents, especially voles. The owl and vole populations are tied closely together – the more voles there are, the more owlets will be around to prey on them.
When the vole population crashes, Great Gray Owls will venture south to find food. These birds are not only nocturnal, but they are also crepuscular, seeking prey in twilight and before dawn, and will also hunt in broad daylight when they have nestlings or during the winter.
Like many tree-nesting owls, they prefer something with the move-in condition rather than new construction. Great Gray Owls prefer old raptor or Common Raven nests to upscale. Broken tree tops and clumps of mistletoe are also high on their list.
Bird Notes
While the Great Gray looks tall, it’s all feathers – both the Great Horned and Snowy owls are heavier and have larger feet and talons.
The Great Grey Owl is also called the Phantom of the North, the Spectral Owl, and the Spruce Owl.
Song
Call
Some cool general owl fun facts
Baby owls are called owlets. Before they get their full flight feathers, they are known as branchlings. You can find them sitting on large branches, staring down at you with those big eyes.
Not all owls Hoot! Screech-Owls whinny like a horse, Barn Owls hiss and scream, and Northern Saw-whet Owls sound like a saw being sharpened on a whetstone.
Many owls have asymmetrical ears, meaning that their ears don’t sit directly across from each other. One ear higher and the other ear in a lower position makes them hear their prey far better than having both ears at the same level.
Owls have tube-shaped eyes. This provides them with better depth perception and allows them to see their prey from long distances. They can see for miles, but they don’t see very well up close.
Those tubular eyes are also why owls can move their necks up to 270 degrees. This movement may cut off circulation in their head, but they have a blood-pooling system that runs their brains and eyes until they move their neck and release the pressure on their arteries and veins.
Where to find Owls in Michigan
There are owls all over the state.
Just because they’re mostly nocturnal doesn’t mean you won’t find them on your daytime walk in the woods. I’ve seen Long-eared Owls perched on branches in broad daylight, Short-eared Owls flying over both grassland and sandy beaches, Screech-owls sleeping in sun-drenched tree hollows and even a Great Horned Owl sitting on a branch right next to the trunk of my big Norway Spruce.
There are about 13 Metroparks in Michigan, those in and around Lake Erie and Lake Huron are wonderful spots for year-round birding. Another great spot is Tawas Point on Lake Huron.
Northern Saw-whets are seen in the northern quadrant of the state year-round and the rest of Michigan in fall and winter. Boreal owls can be found in spring in the eastern parts of the Upper Peninsula (UP). They are rare visitors to Michigan. At night, listen to their call.
Barn Owls, once prevalent in northern Michigan, are a declining species here and across many parts. Loss of habitat is the main cause, as they prefer barns and old structures with good egress, and many of the old wooden barns are being torn down and replaced or left to rot and collapse.
Look for Barred Owls all across the state, with the exception of the southeast areas. Also favoring deciduous forests over beaches, Eastern Screech-Owls are prevalent everywhere but in the northernmost areas.
Great Gray Owls are elusive. Look for these well-dressed owls in the eastern UP (check the trees lining meadows and other open areas) and the northern parts of the state.
Long-eared Owls are best seen in winter in most of the state and year-round in central and southern Michigan. They prefer wooded areas but tend to roost close together. Unfortunately, they are not vocal out of breeding season so listening for them is not an option.
Short-eared Owls (an endangered species in Michigan) are also residents. Most likely seen in the southern parts of the state, they prefer a different habitat than their long-eared cousins – they like open areas, especially near water. Look for them in marshes and meadows and farm fields.
Tip – Short-eared Owls hunt in the same habitat as Northern Harriers (hawks). If you see Harriers flying over a marshy or grassy area during the day, come back at dawn or dusk and look for Short-eared Owls.
Snowy Owls like beaches, fields, shorelines, airports, and other open areas. You can find them during the winter months all along the Great Lakes. Scan any high points like hilltops, telephone poles and fence posts, and rooftops (Snowies like a good vantage point). Prime locations for Snowy Owls are the UP and northern Lower Peninsula.
Northern Hawk Owls are also seen mainly during irruption years. They can be found at those times in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Look for them perched on solitary trees along lakeshores, farmlands, pastures, and prairies. These are not nocturnal owls; the middle of the day is a great time to search for them.
The Great Horned Owl is a year-round resident of the state as well as one of the most common owls in Michigan.
A note on Owl Etiquette
Owls are sensitive, secretive birds so please observe these few pointers when viewing or photographing owls:
- Don’t get too close – if the owl looks at you frequently, you’re too close.
- Stay on “the sidelines” and don’t enter an open area where an owl is hunting.
- Use binoculars or a scope for viewing and a telephoto lens for photography.
- Do not intentionally “flush” an owl.
- If you use audio recordings, minimize their impact on birds, and follow the ABA Code of Birding Ethics.
- Use discretion when sharing the location of an owl; usually, it’s best to provide details only to people you can trust to treat the owl safely.
- Do not feed owls anything such as mice, which may cause them to get used to people and can also result in collisions with cars and buildings.
- Avoid the use of flash photography, especially after dark.
- Eliminate noise to avoid interfering with a bird’s auditory hunting – if you’re viewing from a car, turn off the engine; if you’re with others, talk in a whisper only when necessary.
Conclusion
To learn about owls, raptors, and other birds in Michigan, as always, the Audubon Great Lakes website is the place to go. They have chapters throughout Michigan that offer educational opportunities about birds and birding in the state. Look for your local chapter and sign up for a walk or program.
Other good references are the Michigan Department of Natural Resources MI Birds website and the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory. They have an owl banding station and put out an owl blog with lots of great information.
There are also some organizations that do raptor rehabilitation and utilize birds unable to be returned to the wild as teaching ambassadors for the public. There are a number of these organizations across Michigan, so check out the ones closest to you. While it’s not seeing a Great Horned Owl in the forest, joining one of these programs enables you to get an up-close view of one that you may never get in the woods.
This was just a brief foray into the owls of Michigan. We hope you’ve enjoyed this article, and will check out some of our other pieces on birds in the 50 States.
Remember, all you need to get started is a decent pair of binoculars, a good location, and for these birds, a good pair of ears.
On a clear, moonlit night, grab your thermos of coffee and go do that Owl Prowl!
